Collapsible clothes hanger structure

ABSTRACT

A collapsible clothes hanger structure includes a frame including a pair of supporting legs and a rail. A rail is secured between the supporting legs. A tent is provided on the frame and the tent covers a portion of the rail. A transmission unit includes a transmission gear meshing with a transmission belt. The transmission gear and the transmission belt are disposed in the rail. Multiple hanging units are movably disposed in the rail in sequence. A motor is connected to and drives the transmission unit in the rail to control the hanging units to slide along the rail. A control unit is coupled with a light sensor, a water drop sensor, and a timer. The control unit collects signals from any of the light sensor, the water drop sensor, and the timer to control the motor and the hanging unit. By the structure, the collapsible clothes hanger is automatically expanded or retracted according to light and rain or the pre-set time.

This is a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/951,566, filed on Dec. 6, 2007, currently pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

A conventional automatic clothes hanger comprises a main body having aplatform extending outwardly for a motor and a control circuit to besecured and connected thereon. The platform is provided with a supportframe and accessories. The support frame is provided with a micro switchand a sensor at the two respective ends to detect the weather and tocontrol the clothes hanger to extend or to collapse.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Another conventional automatic clothes hanger comprises a basic frame, aswivel frame, an adjusting frame and a fixture, and is incorporated witha sensor to extend or to collapse the clothes hanger. The swivel frameis linked to activate simultaneously to assist the clothes hanger toextend or to collapse.

The above-mentioned clothes hangers comprise a sensor to detect theweather, however, they are not provided with proper definitions aboutthe weather so that they can not work as expected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a collapsible clothes hanger structure toreact when the real-time weather has changed, which comprises:

-   -   a frame comprising a pair of supporting legs and a rail, the        rail being secured between the supporting legs, a tent being        provided on the frame, the tent covering a portion of the rail;    -   a transmission unit comprising a transmission gear meshing with        a transmission belt, the transmission gear and the transmission        belt being disposed in the rail;    -   a hanging unit disposed in the rail;    -   a motor connected to and driving the transmission unit in the        rail to control the hanging unit to slide along the rail; and    -   a control unit coupled with a light sensor, a water drop sensor,        and a timer, the control unit collecting signals from any of the        light sensor, the water drop sensor, and the timer to control        the motor and the hanging unit.

Preferably, the rail comprises contact points at respective ends tocontrol activation of the motor when in touch with the hanging unit, thecontact points being electrically connected to the control unit.

Preferably, the light sensor is a photosensitive resistance whose backsurface faces the light source and an opaque board is connected on theback surface.

Preferably, the control unit further comprises a manual control key tocontrol the motor.

Preferably, the timer is electrically connected with a time displaypanel.

Preferably, the control unit comprises a remote controller.

Preferably, the motor and the control unit are electrically connected toa battery.

Preferably, the battery is electrically connected to a solar energyboard.

Preferably, the solar energy board comprises a receiving unit to collectsignals from the light sensor, the water drop sensor, and the timer, thesignals then being transmitted to the control unit to activate the motoraccordingly.

Preferably, the hanging unit comprises an active hanger and a number ofdriven hangers, the active hanger being secured to the transmissionbelt, the driven hangers having holes for the transmission belt toinsert and to extend there through, the active hanger and the drivenhangers having slots for pulling straps to insert and to extend therethrough, a block being provided at a center portion of each the slot,each of the pulling straps having a securing end and a terminal end, thesecuring end and the terminal end being larger in size than each theslot.

Preferably, the hanging unit includes a hole for a cloth hanger to behooked therein and the clothes hanger includes two arms extending from ahook and a transverse rod is connected between the two arms. The armsinclude bosses and two support links. A clip is mounted to each of thearms and includes a notch which is located corresponding to the bosses,a clip end and a press end. Besides, the transverse rod and the supportlinks each include an anti-slip portion.

Preferably, the hanging unit comprises an active hanger and a number ofdriven hangers, each of the active hanger and the driven hangerscomprising a shaft, the shaft having a center portion meshing with aconnecting section and two exposed ends, a pair of rollers beingprovided on the two exposed ends of the shaft, the rollers havingrecesses meshing with a pair of rail straps in the rail, the activehanger and the driven hangers having slots for pulling straps to insertand to extend there through.

Preferably, the two support links each have a first transverse rod and asecond transverse rod. The first transverse rod is located remote fromthe tent and includes three fixing holes on each end thereof. The secondtransverse rod has two engaging members on two ends respectively.

Preferably, two positioning ropes are connected between the first andsecond transverse rods. The positioning ropes are flexible and includetwo ends, one of the two ends is fixed to the fixing hole by S-type tieand the other end extends through a sleeve and a collar is mounted tothe sleeve. A cap is inserted into the collar and the collar is engagedwith the engaging member.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which may be adjusted to controlthe clothes hanger automatically or manually.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a collapsibleclothes hanger structure, which is activated when the light has changed.

It is still another object of the present invention to providecollapsible clothes hanger structure, which is activated when rain dropis detected.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which is activated by the timer.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a collapsibleclothes hanger structure, which is activated manually.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which can be controlled remotely.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which provides a solar energyboard that enables to transfer light into energy to save electric power,corresponding to the concept of environmental protection.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which provides a hanging unit thatdoes not require any fastener, which is easy to install and to workprecisely.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which provides a tent to protectthe clothes from getting wet by rain or humid.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, which provides a locating ropebetween the supporting legs and the tent so as to secure clothes on thehangers.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, wherein the clothes are securelyconnected to the hangers by the cooperation of the hangers and theclips, and the clothes are not blown away by strong wind.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acollapsible clothes hanger structure, wherein the positioning ropes areconveniently and quickly fixed to the first and second transverse rodsand are not blown away by strong wind.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preset invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention, partially sectioned;

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a control unit of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the present invention showing awater drop sensor, a control unit and a solar energy board;

FIG. 6 is an exposed view of a hanging unit of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing that the hanging unit issecured in a rail;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an operation of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the present invention in a collapsed status;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing the hanging unit in a collapsedstatus;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a solar energy board facinganother direction;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view to show the first transverse rod;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view to show the second transverse rod;

FIG. 14 shows that the positioning ropes are fixed to the fixing holes;

FIG. 15 shows the connection between the positioning rope, the sleeve,the collar and the cap;

FIG. 16 shows that the collar is engaged with the engaging member, and

FIG. 17 shows that the connection between the hanger and the clip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a frame 1, a transmission unit 2, a hanging unit 3,a motor 4, a control unit 5, a battery 6 and a solar energy board 7.

The frame 1 comprises a pair of supporting legs 11 and a rail 12. Therail 12 is secured between the supporting legs 11. A tent 13 is providedon the frame 1 and covers a portion of the rail 12 to protect clothesfrom being wet by rain or dew. In addition, the two supporting legs 11respectively have a first transverse rod 14 and a second transverse rod15. The first transverse rod 14 is located close to the tent 13 and thesecond transverse rod 15 is located remote from the tent 13. Referringto FIGS. 12 to 16, there are three fixing holes 141 in each of two endsof the first transverse rod 14, and two engaging members 151 arerespectively connected to two ends of the second transverse rod 15. Twopositioning ropes 16 are connected between the first and secondtransverse rods 14, 15, and each positioning rope 16 is a flexible ropeand includes two ends. One of the two ends is fixed to the fixing hole141 by S-type tie and the other end extends through a sleeve 17 and atoothed ring 171 is located in the sleeve 17 so as to secure thepositioning rope 16. A collar 18 is securely mounted to the sleeve 17. Acap 19 is inserted into the collar 18 so as to hide the sleeve 17. Thecollar 18 is eventually forced to be engaged within the engaging member151 to fix the positioning rope 16.

The transmission unit 2 comprises a transmission gear 21 meshing with atransmission belt 22. Both the transmission gear 21 and the transmissionbelt 22 are disposed in the rail 12 of the frame 1. By changing thedirection of the transmission gear 21, the transmission belt 22 changesits moving direction.

The hanging unit 3, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, comprises an activehanger 3A and a number of driven hangers 3B which are mounted in therail 12 in sequence. The active hanger 3A located at the outmost end issecured to the transmission belt 22, while the driven hangers 3B aresecured by extending the transmission belt 22 through a hole 31B of eachdriven hanger 3B. The active hanger 3A and the driven hangers 3B havehanging holes 31A and 32B for a clothes hanger 8 to hang thereon. Theactive hanger 3A and the driven hangers 3B further have slots 32A and33B for pulling straps 31 to extend through. Blocks 321A and 331B areprovided at the center portions of the slots 32A and 33B. Every twoadjacent hangers (including the active hanger 3A and the driven hangers3B) are connected by an independent pulling strap 31 which comprises asecuring end 311 and a terminal end 312. Both the securing end 311 andthe terminal end 312 are larger in size than the slots 32A ad 33B. Thesecuring end 311 is secured to the block 321A, and the terminal end 312is able to engage with the block 331B or disengage from the block 331B.

The motor 4 is connected to the transmission gear 21 of the transmissionunit 2 and outputs a power to link the hanging unit 3 to slide alongwith the transmission belt 22 through the transmission gear 21, as shownin FIG. 1.

The control unit 5, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, comprises a powerswitch 51, an automatic control key 52, a manual control key 53, a lightsensor 54, a water drop sensor 55, and a timer 56 which is electricallyconnected with a time display panel 561. Any of the light sensor 54, thewater drop sensor 55, and the timer 56 can trigger the motor 4 toactivate the transmission belt 22 through the transmission gear 21 toslide the hanging unit 3 to stay within the tent 13 or to extendoutwardly. The automatic control key 52 controls the light sensor 54,the water drop sensor 55, and the timer 56. The light sensor 54, thewater drop sensor 55, and the timer 56 may be activated by pressing themanual control key 53 as well to activate the transmission belt 22 tocontrol the hanging unit 3 through activation of the motor 4.

The control unit 5 further comprises a malfunction light A, a charginglight B, and a battery weak signal light C, as shown in FIG. 1. When themalfunction light A fleshes, indicating an abnormal operation, the powerwill be shot down itself. When the charging light B is flashing, itimplies the solar energy board is charging. When the battery weak signallight is flashing, it implies either the is solar energy board has notbeen charging for a period of time or the battery is not working and itrequires to be replaced with another one. The control unit 5 furthercomprises a lighting system (not shown in the drawings) which isactivated automatically for 10 minutes.

The motor 4 and the control unit 5 are electrically connected to thebattery 6, and the battery 6 is electrically connected to the solarenergy board 7 which transforms the light into electric power to besaved in the battery 6.

The rail 12 is provided with a pair of contact points 121 at respectiveends thereof. The contact points 121 are electrically connected to thecontrol unit 5. The contact points 121 are designed for the hanging unit3 to contact so as to control the motor 4.

When the light sensor 54 detects the light is weak, it will transmit asignal to the control unit 5. When the water drop sensor 55 detectswater drops, it will transmit a signal to the control unit 5.

The control unit 5 is cooperated with the timer 56 and electricallyconnected with the time display panel 561 which can be input digits toshow the hour and minute for convenience of calculating time.

FIGS. 3 and 5 show the positions where the water drop sensor 55, thelight sensor 54 and the solar energy board 7 are located. When waterdrops on the water drop sensor 55, a positive wire 551 and a negativewire 552 will be conducted, and the positive wire 551 and the negativewire 552 are respectively fixed to screws D on the water drop sensor 55.The screws D are used as output ends so as to deliver signals to thecontrol unit 5 to collapse the hanging unit 3. The light sensor 54 is aphotosensitive resistance whose back surface faces the light source (sunand moon) and an opaque board E is connected on the back surface. Thearrangement can precisely judge and send signals to the control unit 5when it is in evenings, cloudy days or dense fogs.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each of the active hanger 3A and the drivenhangers 3B comprises a pair of shafts 32. Each shaft 32 has a centralportion meshing with a connecting section 33 and two ends exposedoutwardly. The exposed ends of the shaft 32 are provided with rollers34. Each roller 34 has a recess 35. The rail 12 comprises a pair of railstraps 122 therein for engagement of the recesses 35 of the rollers 34so as to assist the rolling of the active hanger 3A and the drivenhangers 3B along the rail 12. The active hanger 3A is secured to thetransmission belt 22 and is linked to move along with the transmissionbelt 22.

The active hanger 3A and the driven hangers 3B do not need anyfasteners, such as screws, nuts, C-shaped clips, to be mounted with therollers 34 to slide along the rail 12. The recesses 35 of the rollers 34are disposed on the rail straps 122 of the rail 12, allowing the rollers34 to roll along without detaching from the shafts 32.

Referring to FIG. 17, the clothes hanger 8 is hanged to the holes 31A,32B and includes two arms 82 extending from a hook 81, and a transverserod 83 is connected between the two arms 82. The arms 82 include bosses821 and two support links 84. The transverse rod 83 and the supportlinks 84 have anti-slip portions 831, 841, and the transverse rod 83 hastwo protrusions 832. The support links 84 can be used to position tiesand socks, and the protrusions 832 are used to position femaleunderwear. The anti-slip portions 831, 841 increase the friction betweenthe clothes and the clothes hanger 8 to prevent the clothes fromdropping from the clothes hanger 8. A clip 9 is connected to the arm 82and has a notch 91, a clip end 92 and a press end 93. The clip end 92has a tooth 921 which is used to secure the clothes. It is noted thatthe clip 9 secures the clothes on the arms 92. The clip 9 is first movedto a desired position and the boss 821 is engaged with the notch 91 soas to fix the clip 9. The user then presses the press end 93 to allowthe clip end 92 to lift. In the meanwhile, the clothes are then clippedbetween the clip end 92 and the arm 82. When releasing the press end 93,the clip end 92 securely clips the clothes.

To expand the hanging unit 3 of the present invention, as shown in FIGS.2, 3, and 6, when the transmission belt 22 moves outward from the tent13, the active hanger 3A will be pulled by the transmission belt 22, andthe adjacent driven hanger 3B will also be pulled till the pulling strap31 reaches to its limits. The securing end 311 and the terminal end 312of the pulling strap 31 engage with the block 321A in the slot 32A andthe block 331B in the slot 33B and are stopped thereat. The subsequentdriven hangers 3B are also pulled by the same way.

To collapse the hanging unit 3 of the present invention, as shown inFIGS. 9 and 10, the transmission belt 22 moves towards the tent 13,which links the active hanger 3A to move in the same direction as welltill the terminal end 312 disengages from the block 331B of the adjacentdriven hanger 3B and forces the driven hanger 3B to move along. One byone all of the driven hangers 3B will be brought to move in the samedirection until they are collapsed in the tent 13.

The present invention is designed to operate either in automatic or inmanual mode, as shown in FIG. 8. The control unit 5 comprises theautomatic control key 52 and the manual control key 53. The manualcontrol key 53 has receiving and sending directions to activate themotor 4 to do the job. The motor 4 will be stopped when the manualcontrol key 53 is released. This allows the user to control and adjustthe distance. The automatic control key 52 is activated by the lightsensor 54, the water drop sensor 55 and the timer 56 to activate themotor 4.

The present invention further comprises the battery 6 and the solarenergy board 7, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, to provide electric power tothe control unit 5 and the motor 4. The solar energy board 7 comprises areceiving unit 71 to collect signals from the light sensor 54, the waterdrop sensor 55 and the timer 56 and then transfer to the control unit 5which in turn activates the motor 4 accordingly.

To operate the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9, the user pressesthe power switch 51 of the control unit 5, adjusts the timer 56 throughthe time display panel 561 to set the time, and then presses either themanual control key 53 or the automatic control key 52 to activate themotor 4 which in turn activates the transmission gear 21 and thetransmission belt 22 to push the active hanger 3A and the driven hangers3B outwardly. When the active hanger 3A reaches to one contact point 121of the rail 12, the motor 4 will be stopped. To collapse the presentinvention, when the most inward driven hanger 3B is in contact with theother contact point 121 of the rail 12, the motor 4 will be stopped, asshown in FIG. 2.

The direction of the solar energy board 7 may be changed to direct thesun shine, as shown in FIG. 11.

The operation of the present invention can be categorized as follows:

1. timer mode: the time can be preset to extend or to collapse thehangers;2. manual mode: the manual control key is pressed to extend or tocollapse the hangers;3. automatic mode: the automatic control key is pressed to activate thelight sensor, the water drop sensor and the timer to control thehangers.

The present invention may further comprise a remote controller which canactivate the control unit (5) remotely.

The control unit 5, the motor 4, the light sensor 54, the water dropsensor 55 and the timer 56 are operated by either wire (cable, network)or wireless (wireless network, Bluetooth, frequency modulation)transmission.

1. A collapsible clothes hanger structure comprising: a frame comprisinga pair of supporting legs and a rail, the rail being secured between thesupporting legs, a tent being provided on the frame, the tent covering aportion of the rail; a transmission unit comprising a transmission gearmeshing with a transmission belt, the transmission gear and thetransmission belt being disposed in the rail; a hanging unit disposed inthe rail; a motor connected to and driving the transmission unit in therail to control the hanging unit to slide along the rail; and a controlunit coupled with a light sensor, a water drop sensor, and a timer, thecontrol unit collecting signals from any of the light sensor, the waterdrop sensor, and the timer to control the motor and the hanging unit. 2.The collapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, whereinthe light sensor is a photosensitive resistance and a rear surface facesto a light source, an opaque board is connected to the rear surface. 3.The collapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, whereinthe rail comprises contact points at respective ends to controlactivation of the motor when in touch with the hanging unit, the contactpoints are electrically connected to the control unit.
 4. Thecollapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, wherein thecontrol unit comprises a manual control key to control the motor.
 5. Thecollapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, wherein thetimer is electrically connected with a time display panel.
 6. Thecollapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, wherein thecontrol unit comprises a remote controller.
 7. The collapsible clotheshanger structure, as recited in claim 1, wherein the motor and thecontrol unit are electrically connected to a battery.
 8. The collapsibleclothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 7, wherein the battery iselectrically connected to a solar energy board.
 9. The collapsibleclothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 8, wherein the solarenergy board comprises a receiving unit to collect signals from thelight sensor, the water drop sensor, and the timer, the signals aretransmitted to the control unit to activate the motor.
 10. Thecollapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, wherein thehanging unit comprises an active hanger and a number of driven hangers,the active hanger is secured to the transmission belt, the drivenhangers have holes for the transmission belt to insert and to extendthere through, the active hanger and the driven hangers have slots forpulling straps to insert and to extend there through, a block isprovided at a center portion of each the slot, each of the pullingstraps has a securing end and a terminal end, the securing end and theterminal end are larger in size than each the slot.
 11. The collapsibleclothes hanger structure, as recited in claim 1, wherein the hangingunit includes a hole and a clothes hanger is hooked to the hole, theclothes hanger includes two arms extending from a hook thereof and atransverse rod is connected between the two arms, each of the arms hasbosses and a support link, a clip is connected to the arm and has anotch which is located corresponding to one of the bosses, the clipincludes a clip end and a press end, the transverse rod and the supportlinks have anti-slip portions, two protrusions extend from thetransverse rod.
 12. The collapsible clothes hanger structure, as recitedin claim 1, wherein the hanging unit comprises an active hanger and anumber of driven hangers, each of the active hanger and the drivenhangers comprises a shaft, the shaft has a center portion meshing with aconnecting section and two exposed ends, a pair of rollers are providedon the two exposed ends of the shaft, the rollers have recesses meshingwith a pair of rail straps in the rail, the active hanger and the drivenhangers have slots for pulling straps to insert and to extend therethrough.
 13. The collapsible clothes hanger structure, as recited inclaim 1, wherein the two supporting legs respectively have a firsttransverse rod and a second transverse rod, the first transverse rod islocated close to the tent and the second transverse rod is locatedremote from the tent, the first transverse rod has three fixing holes ineach of two ends thereof and two ends of the second transverse rod eachhave an engaging member.
 14. The collapsible clothes hanger structure,as recited in claim 13, wherein two positioning ropes are connectedbetween the first and second transverse rods, the positioning ropes areflexible and include two ends, one of the two ends of the positioningropes is fixed to the fixing hole by a S-type tie and the other end ofthe positioning ropes extends through a sleeve, a collar is mounted tothe sleeve, a cap is inserted into the collar and the collar is engagedwith the engaging member.
 15. The collapsible clothes hanger structure,as recited in claim 14, wherein the sleeve has a toothed ring locatedtherein so as to secure the positioning ropes.